Time of Change
by Sleeping-force's-inside
Summary: Side-story to me 'Greatest Sacrafice'-trilogy. Spans the love of two Sharpteeth who came together over grief. R & E & R Completed
1. Prologue

**Category:**** Land before Time**

**Rating:**** M**

**Couples:**** Chomper's Father(Rec)/Chomper's Mother(Tyra)**

**Warnings:**** Blood, Character Death, hints of Lemon**

**Chapter:**** Prologue**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by United Pictures; © Plot and OC by me**

**Author's Note:**** Since the main Characters in this fic are all Sharpteeth, their talk will not be in Italics. That does not mean that they are suddenly speaking Leafeater, that'd be weird.**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The young White Star proved to be like her mother not only in looks, but also in behavior. In the beginning it would send pain lacing through Rec's heart whenever he watched the hatchling play with Tyra. It should not be like this…

He watched quietly as White Star attempted to catch a flying buzzer, jumping up to try and snap her jaws closed around it. Tyra was drinking of the nearby Fast Water, ignoring the youngster frolicking around behind her. Or so he thought…

"White Star, you'll hurt yourself." The old female warned the hatchling who was making more dangerous jumps by the minute.

"But, Mo-hom…" The young one mewled, stopping her jumping to look at the massive Sharptooth approaching her.

"No arguing." Tyra chuckled as she nudged the pale-green female, nearly toppling her. "Why don't you look for some fuzzies in the greens?"

The young one made a face, but obeyed none the less while her 'mother' joined her father.

"Are you alright?" Tyra looked him over.

"Yes." He looked at her. "It just hurts that you…" He looked away, slightly ashamed at what he had been about to say.

"That I get to raise the kid that was supposed to be White Star's?" Tyra guessed correctly. "Yes, that hurts me too, but I much prefer this than to have her be dead alongside her siblings."

"I know." He groaned softly, ensuring his daughter would not hear him. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." She assured him. "Just try to hide it better when White Star is around, she might notice and I really don't want to tell her THAT just yet."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

In the end it was after several Cold Times – and a relocation of the family after the valley's Fast Water ran dry – that they told White Star that Tyra was not her actual mother and that her parents did not even love each other as more than friends.

She took it surprisingly well, all things considered. Meaning that she only ran off and did not scream at her parents.

Tyra followed her at a distance to ensure that she would not endanger herself while dealing with her conflicting emotions.

When the Bright Circle went to sleep neither had returned so Rec went out to search for them. His keen Sniffer easily made him pick up their trail.

He found them at the side of the Water Hole in their territory, with White Star curled up tightly at Tyra's side.

The older female was talking, the younger one listening with closed eyes. He crept closer, listening to the words. She was talking about the old White Star.

The stab in his heart was a lot less painful than he had imagined it to be.


	2. Chapter 1

**Category:**** Land before Time**

**Rating:**** M**

**Couples:**** Chomper's Father(Rec)/Chomper's Mother(Tyra)**

**Warnings:**** Blood, Character Death, hints of Lemon**

**Chapter:**** 1**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by United Pictures; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As was the way of Sharpteeth, after her first kill it was time for White Star to go out in the world alone.

"Remember to stay away from the Longnecks." Tyra reminded her again. "I don't want to see you crushed by one of those."

"Sure, mom…" The younger female managed to suppress her amused snicker. Despite there being no blood-relation between them, her mother was still like you'd expect a mother to be – safe that actual mothers would not whack their offspring with their tails or at least that's what White Star thought as she had to get back to her feet.

"Don't get cocky." Tyra swung her tail lightly again. "And do try not to get yourself killed."

"Definitely." White Star nuzzled the light-green female before turning to her father.

"What she said." He dryly told his daughter, earning himself a death-glare from the older female beside him.

"Seriously?" Tyra rolled her eyes. "You are terrible."

"That's just dad." White Star defended her father. It wasn't even so much of a lie: Rec still seemed to live in the past, clinging to her actual mother with something one could almost call desperation. And while he loved his daughter, the constant comparing her with her mother made him somewhat… cold in his interactions at times. Oh, how often did she not hear the infamous 'like your mother' come over his lips?

Tyra merely rolled her eyes again, licked White Star in farewell and walked away to go get a drink.

"So… What's up between the two of you?" White Star used the absence of her mother to ask a question that had bothered her for almost two Cold Times now.

"Should there be anything up?" Her father counter-asked.

"You've been staring at her when she's not looking." She answered. "And not like 'a friend'. What's up, Dad?"

He looked after the other female, not answering the question. He himself was not sure about what this all meant. "I don't know."

"You better figure it out." She warned him, swallowing the words she had wanted to say. "Bye, dad."

"Bye…" He answered, watching as she walked to the border of his territory. "Good luck…"

He followed the old female, finding her bathing in the pond. Instead of joining her, he stopped walking in the cover of the trees, regarding her form intently. What was up between them? The water ran down her sides in small rivulets, making her scales shine in the light of the setting Bright Circle.

He started lightly when she looked at him, having detected his presence. "She's gone then?"

He nodded in answer, walking up to the water's edge. The flash of grief in her red eyes startled him. She had really come to consider White Star as her own daughter.

"What are we going to do now?" She climbed out of the pool, shaking herself lightly as she looked at him with a tilted head. "We are no mates and the reason we stuck together is gone."

Why did that thought hurt him so much?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Convenience kept them together, a territory much easier held when there were two to defend it. Not to mention the Frozen Sky Sparkles were simply much too cold if you couldn't huddle up to someone to share body-warmth.

A sweet aroma filled the air, as it did each Cold Time: the scent of females waiting for a mate to fertilize that year's batch of eggs. It was something they had ignored, but considering White Star had gone Tyra decided that there would be no need for her to ignore it this time around.

Rec had gone out hunting just outside their territory, where abundant Sky Water had turned an arid area into a sea of grass. She had stayed, watching over the Water-hole and the surrounding lands.

Assuming he would not blame her for seeking a mate of her own, she called. Called with that deep and rumbling voice that was only used when wishing to cover great distances, just as she did now: to find a potential mate.

She would never know the shock that he felt when he heard her voice, the disbelief and horror when he remembered that although they had lived together for Cold Times, they were only friends. But she would know his determination to not lose her. On his daughter's insistence he had struggled to figure out what it was that had him staring at the light-green female the entire time.

Whatever it was, he knew he would never get to act on it if she went off with some other male.

The Swimmers looked up in horror and shock when they saw a massive Sharptooth suddenly rise to his feet and storm off like he was after his prey while starving. A female, having mated herself not a day beforehand, protectively rested her hand on her stomach as she watched him flatten the grass in his haste. It was quite a while until she had calmed enough to start eating the browning blades again.

Rec did not know then and neither of them would ever learn that in that short moment when he had looked over his shoulder at the meal he had lost and the meal had stared straight back at him that he had looked at someone he would later call a friend, for neither would recognize the other when they met again in a Valley far from this already dying field, brought together by their children – one barely conceived for a day, the other not even planned.


	3. Chapter 2

**Category:**** Land before Time**

**Rating:**** M**

**Couples:**** Chomper's Father(Rec)/Chomper's Mother(Tyra)**

**Warnings:**** Blood, Character Death, hints of Lemon**

**Chapter:**** 2**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by United Pictures; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

He still was too late: many Sharpteeth were following the herds of Leafeaters and one of them had decided to answer Tyra's call. With a strange pang of horror he watched the other male start courting her. It was unacceptable.

His own roar was no invitation: it was a warning. 'Get away, or face the consequences'

Tyra looked in surprise in his direction, having not expected him to interfere. The other male – a deep-brown in coloration – answered his roar with one of his own. Both approached the other at a jog, Tyra hanging behind as she watched the two of them measure each other up. Her eyes were demanding an explanation, but he ignored her for now. No one, absolutely no one, was taking another female he cared about again.

He mentally blinked, even as his eyes did not stray from the other and couldn't help but wonder where that had come from. It would explain his damn near heart-attack back there though.

Neither spoke, only roaring at the other. It was the stranger that made the first move, lunging forward. He was young, barely fully grown. But what he lacking in experience, he made up for in determination. Too bad for him his opponent was not only more experienced, but equally determined.

Rec wheeled out of the way, slapping his tail against the other's face. Both fought ferociously, determined to not back down before the other did.

On the sidelines Tyra was watching in horror and disbelief as they tore into each other. Fast Biters watched from the security of the forest, instinctively knowing that one or perhaps even both of the combatants would not leave this battle alive.

She shuddered at the look in Rec's eyes, one she had never seen before. She instinctively jumped back when he threw the other on the ground. She had not even known him capable of that, and now he was throwing the stranger around as if he was no more than a hatchling!

The downside was that the stranger did not want to be thrown around and reacted accordingly. She flinched as their battle continued, unable to stop the gasp from escaping her when Rec cruelly broke the other's neck.

"What was that about?" She demanded before the body of her once-suitor had even hit the ground.

"I killed him." He hissed as some of the wounds stung quite badly as he turned to face her.

"I got that, thank you very much." She snarled. "But why? Last time I checked we were friends at best. I am not yours, Rec, I am not a White Star-replacement."

That last bit hit him hard. "Did you perhaps consider that I would want Tyra?" He demanded in an equal tone, baring his teeth in frustration.

"Perhaps you should have mentioned something like that before I went into heat." She roared in answer, snapping at him. "Then perhaps I could have been yours already, you stupid moron!"

No one called him moron, no one. His tail hit her face with devastating force, knocking her over.

Her blood-red eyes widened in horror for a moment, before they narrowed as she hissed at him.

But the fact that she was not making a move to get up spoke volumes. He'd have to apologize to her later.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"And that is why a downed Sharptooth is still a dangerous Sharptooth." She smugly looked at him.

"And it's why you couldn't find anyone until now." He snapped back, nursing the new bruise she had given him. "A simple 'stop' would have worked too."

"You hit me." She countered.

"You called me a moron." He pointed out. "You know how I hate that."

"If you're going to hit me whenever I call you something, I'm going to look for someone else." She swung her tail at him lightly. "Did you at least bring dinner?"

"Sharptooth a la Rec." He pointed at the dead suitor. "Do you mind?"

"I'd have preferred Longneck." She chuckled, walking over.

"Sure, let me go kill a Longneck on my own. That'll work out great…" He dryly stated as he followed her over.


	4. Chapter 3

**Category:**** Land before Time**

**Rating:**** M**

**Couples:**** Chomper's Father(Rec)/Chomper's Mother(Tyra)**

**Warnings:**** Blood, Character Death, hints of Lemon**

**Chapter:**** 3**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by United Pictures; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Was it love? He couldn't tell and neither could she. Both of them were content to let the status quo remain, though Tyra did not easily forgive him for killing her suitor over what she called 'a strange fancy'.

She did forgive him when he brought her a Longneck: her favorite meal - she would later laugh at the irony, but made certain she'd never tell her Longneck-friend _or_ her son, for that matter.

She tilted her head lightly, studying Rec as they feasted on his most recent kill. He seemed oblivious to her intense study, instead ripping big chunks of their meal.

"Rec?" Her voice was hesitant and almost afraid as she broke their mutual silence.

"Yes?" His was only curious, though perhaps a bit of apprehension was mixed in there was well.

"Did… did you ever find out why you interfered then?" It was the first time she directly asked him, taking him off guard.

"I… think I did, yes." He looked from the killed Longneck to her, before seemingly coming to a decision about something.

She almost instinctively backed away, her eyes widening as he opted to climb over the carcass instead of merely walking around it. The look in his eyes send a shiver down her spine as he towered over her, his eyes fastening on her own with a look filled with near incomparable intensity.

The warmth of his breath caressed her neck, his sharp teeth inches from one of her most vulnerable areas. Instinct reared its' head again, demanding she get her neck away from this threatening presence. But she was frozen, unable to even move the tip of her tail.

Tyra shuddered as he closed in even more and she could feel the light pressure of his snout just behind her head.

A gasp escaped her opened mouth as his tongue started to trace the individual scales on her neck. She felt the soft reverberations of the ground as he moved, placing his body alongside hers.

Her heart thundered in her chest when she realized the unspoken request behind it.

His heart started to thunder when she accepted, leaning forward.

Flatteeth consider Sharpteeth violent, cruel and perhaps even with an unquenchable thirst for blood. Sometimes Tyra couldn't help but wonder if they were right, like she did now in a corner of her mind.

Rec's jaws jammed close around her back, the only thing protecting her from having him rip a chunk of flesh of her being the fact that at that spot her scales were reinforced specifically to deal with this. How could a species not be considered all that if their very mating involved threatening the female's life?

She roared in a mixture of pain and pleasure, silently grateful that Rec had experience with this and thus knew exactly how much pressure he could apply before it would get uncomfortable for her.

He held on with his jaws, his arms being too short, forcing him to use the next best thing: his mouth. The growls she released were music to his ears and her scent was quickly turning intoxicating in his mind.

Her growls turned into a long sigh as she felt heat fill her. Rec's grip on her back tightened, the tip of his teeth actually managing to pierce through her scales. The sharp pain only served to intensify her pleasure. Thirst for blood indeed…

Neither of them spoke for a while afterwards, content to let their only communication be gestures.

That night, as the both of them slept peacefully beside each other, a powerful gust of wind swept across the field, throwing up dust. For a split moment, it looked like a big Sharptooth before it fell apart. Had it had a face, one could have seen amusement and a gentle warmth few would expect on a Sharptooth's face.


	5. Chapter 4

**Category:**** Land before Time**

**Rating:**** M**

**Couples:**** Chomper's Father(Rec)/Chomper's Mother(Tyra)**

**Warnings:**** Blood, Character Death, hints of Lemon**

**Chapter:**** 4**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by United Pictures; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I'm afraid you were a bit too late." Tyra told him a few days later. "I was no longer fertile."

He shrugged in answer. "The land is not exactly suited for little ones at any rate." Even they, supreme rulers over a once lush valley, had been forced from their homes by starvation. The air blowing from a nearby Burning Mountain had poisoned the plants and driven what herds there were to travel away. And unlike the Fast Claws living in the area, they could not sustain themselves on Tickly Fuzzies.

So they had taken up the trail of the wandering herds, all of which seemed to head into the West. They were not the only ones to have done so and more than once they had had an 'argument' about a recent kill with some of the other Sharpteeth. Luckily there were two of them and usually only one of their opponents, so more often than not it was them that won the argument.

Aside from that one time they encountered a older male Sharptooth, tinted a darker green than Rec. It was one of the few times they backed down from their kill, allowing him to feast on the Swimmer they had brought down.

Tyra's blood had run cold at the look he had thrown her, made worse by the fear she saw on Rec's face.

"You know him?" She whispered as they waited at a safe distance for the other to finish his meal.

"Yes." Rec looked over at him warily. "Surely you see the resemblance between us? He is my father."

She spluttered faintly at that, marveling at the old age the other male had to be then. "Your father?"

"We're not on such good terms after he ate some of my siblings." Rec softly told her. "And I don't like the way he is looking at you, my love."

"Now that I can agree with." She murmured, as the older male threw another glance at her. "How did you say your mother looked like again?"

"Purple-grey." Rec looked at his father. "But you are just as beautiful."

"At the moment that is something I do not want to hear." She stepped back a bit as Rec's father walked over to them, leaving the Swimmer half-eaten on the ground.

"I presume that is your mate?" The old Sharptooth looked from Rec to Tyra.

"My second." Rec coldly stated. "And not one for you to get."

"Oh my poor son." Tyra's skin crawled at the tone. "Have you forgotten that I always get what I want?" The younger male hissed as his father shot forward, bringing his head dangerously close. "Don't make your mother's mistake, boy. It'd be… unfortunate for this beautiful female you snared yourself."

"Don't worry, father, I won't." Rec growled. "Because Mother's only fault lay in not killing you when she had the chance and I won't do that."

His father snorted in amusement and walked away, but only after throwing a glance at Tyra that made her feel like a hatchling looking into an open Sharptooth-mouth.

"Can we stay far away from your father?" She asked once said father was far away again.

"Definitely." Rec looked after his sire with narrowed eyes before returning to their kill to eat.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Despite their best attempts, they encountered Rec's father several more times the following Moons, the older male stalking them as much as he did the herds.

Tyra hardly ever left Rec's side during that time, the old male unsettling her. Rec took to night-time vigils when he believed his father to be close.

Quite some time passed this way, but eventually even his sire no longer felt like harassing a son that had grown quite formidable and was more than willing to deliver.

But their relative peace was rudely interrupted several Cold Times later when the earth revolted. Prey and Predator alike suddenly had to hold on for dear life as the ground shook with unparalleled fury, ripping itself apart in places.

Rec and Tyra, missing the stability of the four-footers, soon found themselves on the ground, praying that none of the rifts would open up where they were. The air echoed with the death-cries of those unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Are you alright?" Rec got back to his feet, wincing at the bruises littering his body.

"There were many days where I felt better." She hissed when she tried to put weight on her left foot. "I think I twisted my ankle."

"Let me check." He ordered in worry. He sighed in relief after a short check-up. "I think you just got an unfortunate bruise, my love."

She sighed too, in defeat this time. "Well, luckily many will have died in this Earthshake, because I doubt I could hunt with this foot."

"I'll see if I can find something." Rec sniffed the wind softly blowing, shaking his head when a drop of Sky Water fell right on his nose. He threw her an amused glare as she chuckled. In a matter of moments, it was pouring.


	6. Chapter 5

**Category:**** Land before Time**

**Rating:**** M**

**Couples:**** Chomper's Father(Rec)/Chomper's Mother(Tyra)**

**Warnings:**** Blood, Character Death, hints of Lemon**

**Chapter:**** 5**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by United Pictures; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Rec had several virtues beside his great skills as hunter, some of which he could even still boast about at the end of his life: he kept his promises… But something far more profound was the fact that he hardly ever – if ever – lied. In fact, Tyra had never caught him on a lie herself. He might twist the truth, but he had never outright lied as far as she could tell.

This tiny virtue was something that would put a strain on a friendship both would come to cherish, despite not even having seen the other until now. It would be Cold Times until they'd find an old Longneck-female, wounds covering her body and blood pooling on the ground in what everything would call a twist of fate much like her daughter's. They would share stories of times long past, of grieves barely healed and tear new wounds that would sting like few other things.

Rec found them food, a massive bluish Longneck that had succumbed to Sharpteeth-wounds not a short while beforehand. They even had heard the sound of a youngster, undoubtedly calling out to the dying giant, but being unlikely to receive an answer from the older Flattooth. By the time they reached her, the hatchling had disappeared, abandoning the dead Longneck to whatever fate awaited corpses. This time that fate was to be food…

Cold Times from now, once they learned her name, they would feel guilty. Now they only saw a dead Longneck, a feast to them. A feast that would carry a bad aftertaste long after they'd eaten it.

Rec rarely lied and he would not all those Cold Times in the future when he'd taunt a friend into attacking him in an attempt to protect her from the animosity of a Threehorn he had condemned to pain. _"Perhaps I even have time to snack on you. Let's see if you taste like her too."_

The stench of his father was still clinging to her, the rain not having washed it away fully yet, but the older male was nowhere to be seen. Rec silently hoped he had died in the Earth-shake. They tore into her, it having been over a week since they had eaten last.

They stayed with the carcass for several days until Tyra's foot had recovered and she could properly walk again. Then they moved out, seeking fresh flesh once more. They never met Rec's father again, though it was only Cold Times later that they'd find out why: he had been killed by hatchlings.

Rec laughed when he learned of that. Though he told no one, not even his own son, why. There was enough pain, enough bad blood without adding that one to it.

Soon enough the time for mating came along again. Neither could quite stop themselves. Their roars echoed in the Mysterious Beyond that night.

But even empty statements can carry terrible truths: The land is not exactly suited for little ones at any rate.

Tyra carried several eggs after the encounter, but a combination of foul gasses rising from the poisoned lakes in the vicinity and desperate Tickly Fuzzies and Egg Eaters meant that only one reached its' time of hatching.

If either of them were hurt by this omen of their dying world, neither said so. Both simply enjoyed the egg they had...

Until they came back from a hunt and found it missing, the scent of Leafeaters surrounding the place where they had left it.

For Rec, this carried terrible parallels with his previous nest. For Tyra, White Star's rage suddenly made far more sense. Who ever had taken their last egg would pay dearly, for neither would ignore this slight upon them.

With the stinking fumes they had intended to cover the egg's smell, it took Rec a while to find the trail of the Leafeaters. But once he did, both moved after it with such fury and determination that small Belly-crawlers and Tickly Fuzzies fled from the fury radiated by the two prime hunters.

Neither spoke, both too intend to spill blood this day.

In front of them loomed the Great Wall, the sole protection of the sanctuary of the Flatteeth, but now both of them could clearly see a gaping wound in the proud mountain-range.


	7. Chapter 6

**Category:**** Land before Time**

**Rating:**** M**

**Couples:**** Chomper's Father(Rec)/Chomper's Mother(Tyra)**

**Warnings:**** Blood, Character Death, hints of Lemon**

**Chapter:**** 6**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by United Pictures; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Their rage overrode their common sense. Despite her little one running along right in front of her nose, Tyra only wanted everything she could lay eyes on dead. It was only after they were beaten by the grown-up Leafeaters that they calmed enough to think things through.

Only to nearly lose it all when they saw some Egg-stealers trying to throw their son to his untimely death. Neither of them got very far, soon being overtaken by the furious parents. Their son reached them soon after, just before the sound of thundering rocks reached them.

"The way in is closed." Rec realized.

"At least we have our child back." Tyra carefully scooped up the hatchling, looking him over. He seemed healthy enough.

"He smells like them." Her husband said after a deep breath. "Let's go. We won't find enough food here…" He looked at the poisonous waters around them. Tyra agreed, carrying the little one as he fell asleep.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

They traveled far, all the way to the Big Water where Rec picked up the scent of a Swimmer-herd who had taken a narrow ridge to a nearby island. They followed them, turning the island-sanctuary into a death-trap. The day that he had spend with those Flatteeth had left a mark on their son. He would growl in strange and indecipherable ways at times, as if he was talking.

It was only when a group of young Leafeaters came to their island after yet another Earthshake that they found that he had indeed been talking: in Leafeater.

Neither of them quite understood how that had happened. They had not left him THAT long with the Leafeaters, didn't they?

The smell of the Stinking Flowers clung to the children, but both still recognized the hatchlings as those they had sought to kill all those Cold Times ago.

"They were the ones that stole your egg, weren't they?" Tyra asked as they watched the Swimming Longneck disappear in the distance.

"They didn't steal it." Chomper looked up at his parents. "They thought I was the egg of Ducky's sibling."

"Moronic Leafeaters." Rec growled, eyes darkening at the memory of the last time Leafeaters had gotten to his eggs.

Tyra said nothing, looking after the children with a uncertain expression on her face. "Tell us about them."

The young Sharptooth blinked in surprise at his mother's request, but obeyed.

Several days after he was surprised when his parents told him that they wished to leave the island, pointing out that the land-bridge connecting them to the mainland was gone.

The next day found them on the mainland again with one hatchling who swore he'd never get near the Big Water again. His mother chuckled as they moved inland again, though those chuckles quickly died in her throat when they saw the devastation.

"Leafgobblers…" Rec realized. "And the herds moved that way…"

Chomper meeped softly, failing to be on time to keep his parents from hearing.

"They might be 'friends', but I am afraid their kind is still 'dinner', Chomper." Tyra soothed him. "But we promised they'd be safe. Even if we come across them, they won't be dinner, I assure you."

He beamed at that.


End file.
